Janai Poornima (Rokshya Bandhon)

The full-moon of the month of Shrawan (August); the day when the festival of Janai Purnima is observed, is considered sacred all over the country and is celebrated in different manner by different groups of people of Nepal.  However, the most widely accepted mode of celebration is that on this day people take a ritual bath and change their sacred thread.  Everyone gets a string of thread tied in his wrist from the Brahmans as a protective mark for the whole year.  The Nepalese prepare a special dish called 'Kwati, (mixed sprouted beans) on this day.  This day is also held sacred for bathing in Gosainkunda.  One can also see a pageantry of the Jhankris (witch doctors) attired in their traditional costume come to bathe at Kumbheshwor at Patan.  These Jhankris also visit the temple of Kaiinchowk Bhagavati (the goddess at Kalinchowk) in Dolkha district where they go to beg for their healing powers, as they are the traditional healers of the Nepalese villagers. A large number of devotee flock to the holy shrines or temples to pay their respect to Lord Shiva and chant the powerful Gayatri Mantra while a rakshya bandan (a red or yellow protection cord) is tied around the writs of Hindu as well as Buddhist devotees.

Glance of Nepal